Tuesday night's Champions Classic won't be happening under normal circumstances because nothing is happening under normal circumstances amid this COVID-19 pandemic. But it's still four big brands led by four Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame coaches. So it remains an intriguing early season event for the sport.
The schedule is as follows:
- 7:30 ET: Michigan State at Duke
- 9:30 ET: Kentucky vs. Kansas
The later game, which is happening at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis, is probably the bigger game, if only because the loser of Kentucky-Kansas will wake up Wednesday with a 1-2 record. That's the result of Kansas opening the season with a 102-90 loss to top-ranked Gonzaga while Kentucky is coming off of Sunday's 76-64 loss to Richmond in which the Wildcats finished 0-of-10 from 3-point range — and with 21 turnovers compared to just five assists.
UK had zero assists in the second half.
It was ugly.
How much better will Kentucky's newcomers look just two days after looking lost against Richmond? Is it even possible to fix the things that need fixing just two days after looking lost against Richmond? As always, we'll see. But, for what it's worth, the Jayhawks are listed as 4.5-point favorites. So, barring an upset, John Calipari's Wildcats will take a 1-2 record into Sunday's game with Josh Pastner's Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
All four schools in the Champions Classic are in Tuesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. Kansas is No. 5. Duke is No. 6. Michigan State is No. 9. And Kentucky is No. 21.
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Tuesday's Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Drew Timme finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds in Friday's 90-67 victory over Auburn. Both of Gonzaga's victories are double-digit wins over power-conference schools. | -- | 27-8 |
| 2 |  | Jared Butler finished with 20 points and five assists in Sunday's 86-52 victory over Washington. The Bears have won their first two games by an average of 32 points. | -- | 24-11 |
| 3 |  | Luka Garza finished with 41 points and nine rebounds in Friday's 103-76 victory over Southern. The CBS Sports Preseason National Player of the Year was 14-of-15 from the field, 3-of-3 from 3-point range, and 10-of-12 from the free throw line. | -- | 19-15 |
| 4 |  | Ayo Dosunmu made two late free throws to secure Friday's 77-75 victory over Ohio. The junior guard is averaging 25.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists through three games. | -- | 29-9 |
| 5 |  | Christian Braun finished with 30 points and nine rebounds in Friday's 94-72 victory over Saint Joseph's. The Jayhawks' lone loss is a loss to top-ranked Gonzaga. | -- | 23-11 |
| 6 |  | Jalen Johnson finished with 19 points and 19 rebounds in Saturday's 81-71 victory over Coppin State. DJ Steward added 24 points and nine assists off the bench. | -- | 27-9 |
| 7 |  | Christian Bishop finished with 16 points and four rebounds in Sunday's 69-58 victory over North Dakota State. Marcus Zegarowski added 12 points and six assists. | -- | 25-10 |
| 8 |  | D'Mitrik Trice finished with 15 points and three assists in Friday's 92-58 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Badgers' two wins have come by an average of 22.0 points. | -- | 22-14 |
| 9 |  | Aaron Henry finished with 14 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 80-70 victory over Notre Dame. Rocket Watts added 13 points and six assists off the bench. | -- | 20-15 |
| 10 |  | Tennessee is adding five-star guards Jaden Springer and Keon Johnson to a proven core of John Fulkerson and Yves Pons. It's an experienced and talented roster that most believe will result in a nice bounce-back season for Rick Barnes' Vols. | -- | 27-9 |
| 11 |  | Tyrece Radford finished with 21 points on 12 shots in Sunday's 76-58 victory over South Florida. The Hokies' 3-0 record features a win over Villanova. | -- | 19-15 |
| 12 |  | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl missed 10 of the 15 shots he attempted in Saturday's 81-73 loss to Virginia Tech. The Wildcats' next game is Wednesday against Saint Joseph's. | -- | 18-16 |
| 13 |  | Derek Culver finished with 15 points in Friday's 70-64 victory over Western Kentucky. The Mountaineers won the Crossover Classic by beating South Dakota State, VCU and WKU. | -- | 9-23 |
| 14 |  | The Cavaliers uncharacteristically gave up 40 second-half points in Friday's 61-60 loss to San Francisco. Virginia missed nine of the 12 3-pointers it attempted. | -- | 23-11 |
| 15 |  | Marcus Sasser finished with 17 points and three rebounds in Sunday's 64-53 victory over Texas Tech. The Cougars' 3-0 record features three double-digit wins. | -- | 32-5 |
| 16 |  | R.J. Davis finished with 16 points and six rebounds in Monday's 78-51 victory over UNLV. The Tar Heels will play Stanford in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational. | -- | 29-8 |
| 17 |  | The Red Raiders missed 14 of the 18 3-pointers they attempted in Sunday's 64-53 loss to Houston. Mac McClung was 0-of-6 from beyond the arc. | -- | 23-11 |
| 18 |  | Duane Washington finished with 21 points and three rebounds in Sunday's 74-64 victory over UMass Lowell. The Buckeyes 2-0 record features two double-digit wins. | -- | 22-14 |
| 19 |  | Courtney Ramey finished with 14 points and two assists in Monday's 78-76 victory over Davidson. The Longhorns will play Indiana in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational. | -- | 21-13 |
| 20 |  | Nathan Cayo finished with 18 points and six rebounds in Sunday's 76-64 victory at Kentucky. The Spiders won despite shooting just 28.0% from 3-point range. | -- | 23-10 |
| 21 |  | The Wildcats missed all 10 of their 3-point attempts in Sunday's 76-64 loss to Richmond. Kentucky recorded with five assists and 21 turnovers. | -- | 23-10 |
| 22 |  | Two of the best three scorers from the Pac-12 champs are returning - among them former JUCO National Player of the Year Chris Duarte. If the Ducks get a waiver for St. John's transfer LJ Figueroa, they'll be even stronger and clearly talented enough to win back-to-back league titles. | -- | 24-12 |
| 23 |  | Ron Harper Jr. finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in Sunday's 70-56 victory over Hofstra. Jacob Young added 17 points and three rebounds. | -- | 15-17 |
| 24 |  | Race Thompson finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds in Monday's 79-58 victory over Providence. The Hoosiers will play Texas in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational. | -- | 19-14 |
| 25 |  | Josh Christopher made eight of the 11 shots he attempted and finished with 17 points in Sunday's 100-77 victory over Houston Baptist. Marcus Bagley added 21 points, five rebounds and three assists. | -- | 14-18 |
| 26 |  | The Seminoles lost three of the top four scorers from a team that won the ACC. But the arrival of Scottie Barnes will give Leonard Hamilton a chance to finish in the top four of the league for the fourth time in a five-year span. | -- | 17-16 |
